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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29905905">Wolfish</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseharpies/pseuds/roseharpies'>roseharpies</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Auror Lysander Scamander, Auror Teddy Lupin, F/M, Head Auror Harry Potter, Lysander is Irish, Murder Mystery, Not Beta Read, Teddy is not a werewolf, Teddy thinks about his parents a lot, but im Trying My Best</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:13:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,855</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29905905</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseharpies/pseuds/roseharpies</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes he’d wake up in the morning with a different hair or eye colour, surprising himself in the mirror. It would take him a few seconds to recognize himself, and those were seconds that he hated. He wanted to be able to look in a mirror and know he was looking at himself, exactly the way he was supposed to look.</p><p>In which Auror Teddy Lupin is assigned a case that turns out to be more interesting than it initially seemed.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lysander Scamander/Roxanne Weasley, Teddy Lupin &amp; Harry Potter, Teddy Lupin &amp; Lysander Scamander, Teddy Lupin/Victoire Weasley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Monday</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Teddy could never fully be sure if the way he looked was natural, or if it was some part of his subconscious controlling him. He knew from photos that he looked an awful lot like his father, practically identical to him, but he couldn’t say if that was genetics or if some part of his mind had chosen to make him look like that. He couldn't know what his natural hair colour was, only that it mimicked the bright hues he knew his mother used to turn her hair. He thought about these things every time he caught himself in a mirror. </p><p>People would always tell him how amazing and cool his abilities were, or how they just wished that they could be a metamorphmagus, and Teddy would always smile and nod politely. He would never tell them how inconstant it made him feel. Sometimes he’d wake up in the morning with a different hair or eye colour, surprising himself in the mirror. It would take him a few seconds to recognize himself, and those were seconds that he hated. He wanted to be able to look in a mirror and know he was looking at himself, exactly the way he was supposed to look.</p><p>He finished tying his tie and ran a hand through his hair - cyan blue that morning, which almost seemed to be the default for him. Victoire had already left for work and it was him alone in their small house, staring at himself in their bathroom mirror and listening to the loud grandfather clock in the living room tick on. He pushed himself onward, out through their bedroom and into the living room and to the kitchen. He poured himself a mug of coffee from the pot his wife had made that morning and shuffled on back to the living room to use the Floo network. He greatly preferred it to Apparition. </p><p>Even without the fact that his appearance seemed to be a mimicry of his parents’, it seemed like so many aspects of his life were just unconscious efforts to get to know them better. Not being able to remember them, he sought out every scrap of information he could on them. He’d listen to stories from his grandmother and Harry, write letters to people who went to school with them, and he read every book he could get his hands on about the wars with Voldemort in the hopes that he’d get some mention of them. He was a metamorphmagus, a Hufflepuff, an Auror; just like his mother. A bookworm, sometimes a troublemaker, and wolfish; just like his father. Of course, he wasn’t actually a werewolf. Lycanthropy wasn’t hereditary, it was inflicted. Yet Teddy still felt that pull of the moon, and that was another thing he couldn’t be sure if it was intentional or not - another subconscious effort to know his father better, or just the way he was.</p><p> Teddy entered the bustling Auror offices and made his way to his desk. He said hello to the few people he passed on his way like Herb Welker and Harland Burke, who had been in training with him when he first started.</p><p>“Morning, Teddy!”</p><p>He hadn’t been at his desk for a full minute before Lysander Scamander came bounding up to him, full of enthusiasm despite how early it was. Lysander was a relatively new recruit, and Harry had assigned them as partners almost immediately. Some sort of ‘family sticks together’ mentality from his godfather. Teddy was married to Harry’s niece, and Lysander was engaged to another one, which meant that they had to stick out for one another at work. Teddy didn’t dislike the man, but he was just… new. He had only been an Auror officially for a few months at that point and was still so goddamn excitable about it. Being partners with Lysander felt reminiscent of babysitting, which wasn’t helped by the fact that Teddy had literally babysat the Scamander twins multiple times when he was a teenager. </p><p>“Morning, Lysander,” Teddy replied, drinking from his mug and still not entirely awake.</p><p>“Harry- er, I mean, Auror Potter wants to see us in his office at eight,” Lysander said, looking very excited at the prospect. Teddy tried to relate, tried to pull back to when he was a new Auror. He knew that he had probably been just as eager and potentially annoying as Lysander was now. </p><p>“I’ll see you then,” Teddy said, heading to his desk. Yet Lysander was following him, like some kind of overactive Irish puppy. “I have a lot of paperwork to do before that, Lysander.” Lysander nodded, unperturbed, and then wandered off. </p><p>Lysander Scamander wasn’t the only family friend or distant relation through marriage that Teddy had in the Auror offices, but his presence was the most curious one. Why Lysander, the son of two famed mazoologists, had chosen to become an Auror was beyond Teddy. He remembered the Scamander twins as children, running around talking about things like moon frogs and wrackspurts. Shy, reserved Lysander, who was too scared to admit to Roxanne Weasley that he fancied her. Lysander, who was probably too soft and too smart to be doing this kind of work. He could hear Victoire’s words in his mind, laughing and saying, <em> You are far too young to act like some old grizzled Auror. </em></p><p>He diligently worked on his leftover paperwork until eight o’clock, when Lysander appeared in front of his desk exactly on the dot. Teddy wordlessly stood up and followed the younger man to the head Auror office, where his godfather would be waiting. Teddy knocked on the office door and entered after he heard the muffle, “Come in!”</p><p>Harry Potter was sitting at his desk, which was tidy except for the haphazard stack of books in the corner and a small scroll sprawled across it. He motioned for the two Aurors to sit down and leaned forward with his elbows on his desk. </p><p>Harry, as Teddy’s godfather, had been a large part of Teddy’s upbringing. He had mostly been raised by his maternal grandmother Andromeda Tonks, but Harry and Ginny had always been around. They had him over for dinner most weekends, took him to Diagon Alley for his school supplies, and had treated him like one of their own sons. Harry was fifty now, yet he didn’t seem to have changed much from how Teddy remembered him from his childhood save for a few grey hairs and prominent smile lines on his face. </p><p>“Good morning, boys. Let’s get to it. Morgan Kilgrave was found dead in his home last night,” Harry started. Teddy wracked his brain, knowing that the name sounded somewhat familiar, but came up with nothing. “I’m assigning you two to investigative duty. There’s evidence to suggest that Kilgrave was involved in some dark circles.” </p><p>“Dark circles?” asked Teddy, raising an eyebrow. That could mean anything from Kilgrave being some power-seeking nutjob, acting alone and biting off more than he could chew, to… </p><p>“Death Eaters, do you think?” asked Lysander quietly. Teddy glanced over at his partner and saw an uncharacteristically dark shadow cross Lysander’s eyes. </p><p>Harry, thankfully, shook his head. “Nothing that serious, from what our diagnostic team found. It appears that he was a part of a smaller independent group.” </p><p>Death Eaters, officially, did not exist anymore. No one at the Auror offices had claimed to catch one. There were always rumors, however. It had been a little over three decades since Voldemort’s defeat, but he and his Death Eaters had left deep scars on the wizarding community that might never be healed.</p><p>“A report was made at six thirty-seven last night by Kilgrave’s neighbour - ‘loud voices and flashing lights’ they said,” Harry continued, reading from the scroll. “Thank Merlin he lived by wizards, trying to work around the Muggle police is always a pain. A pair of Aurors were sent to investigate and found Kilgrave dead. A diagnostic spell showed that the cause of death was the Killing Curse. His wand was missing, but several dark artifacts and books were found in the home.” </p><p>“What sort of dark artifacts?” Lysander asked.</p><p>“The report doesn’t say, except for that they were all sent to the Department of Magical Artefacts for holding. You can head down and take a look if you like.” </p><p> </p><p>They wrapped up the meeting soon after and headed off to the aforementioned Department. </p><p>“How was your weekend?” Lysander asked conversationally as they headed towards the lift.</p><p>“Fine. Vic and I had dinner with some old school friends.”<br/>
“How is Victoire? She’s got to be pretty far along at this point, yeah?”<br/>
“Seven months, almost. How’s Roxanne?”</p><p>“Good, good. The Falcons have been going strong in the league this year.”</p><p>They made small talk until they got to their destination. The Department of Magical Artefacts was one of the more disorganised offices in the Ministry. It employed around ten people, who could be seen walking around and taking notes on various objects. There were stacks of boxes that reached the ceiling cluttered about, and large shelves filled with strange and mysterious objects on three of the four walls. In one far corner, past the hectic piles of magical objects and roaming archivists, was the one closed office in the department. The office belonged to the Head Curator, Petyr Cantwell. </p><p>“Hello, Cantwell,” said Teddy after knocking and opening the door to the curator’s office. “We’re here to see some artifacts obtained from the home of Morgan Kilgrave.”</p><p>Cantwell, an older wizard who always wore a pointed hat, greeted them jovially. “Good to see you again, Lupin! And… Scamander, is it? Yes, nice to see you. Morgan Kilgrave? You’re in luck, we were just about to send most of those items over to Misuse of Muggle Artefacts.”</p><p>“Muggle Artefacts?” Lysander asked. “What for?”</p><p>“A lot of what was found in his home were ordinary Muggle objects with dark curses on them,” Cantwell answered. </p><p>Teddy frowned. It sounded as if Kilgrave was cursing normal objects intending to cause harm to oblivious Muggles. He’d seen it happen before, and it was never pleasant. </p><p>Cantwell waved over one of his curators to have her lead them to Kilgrave’s belongings. She pulled out her wand, waved it, and a large box from one of the tops of the piles was floated down to them. She gave the lock on it a tap to open it and stood back to let them sift through it. There were a couple of obviously wizarding items, but most of the contents of the box were simple-looking Muggle things. A teapot, a pair of gloves, what looked like a toaster.</p><p>“Do you know what any of these do?” asked Teddy, still crouching down to look at the items.</p><p>“The teapot is cursed to bite anyone who tries to use it, pretty standard stuff, we’ve seen a lot of that,” she said. “We think the gloves shrink until they can’t be removed, possibly crushing the hands of the wearer, but we haven’t tested it. That hairbrush there sharpens steadily as it’s being used until the teeth are razor sharp. We haven’t figured out what that metal box does.”</p><p>“It’s a toaster,” Lysander supplied. The curator raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t respond. </p><p>“I think Kilgrave must have been cursing objects to fool Muggles with,” Teddy said. </p><p>Lysander nodded. “That sounds about right. Why do you think he’d be killed, though? Do you think whoever did it is on our side? Not that killing people is good, but-”</p><p>“Not sure,” Teddy cut him off. “We should head to the house and have a look around.”</p><p> </p><p>Morgan Kilgrave lived in a small wizarding village near Ipswich. This worked in their favour because it meant that they could talk to his neighbours without having to hide any magical details. It was an old house, with crumbling brick walls and vines that were so interwoven with them that they looked as if they were holding the house together all on their own. There were two bedrooms, one of which had been turned into a small library. </p><p>Teddy scanned through the books on the shelves. Many of them were standard books you’d see in any wizard’s home, but there was a shelf filled with a different sort of book. They looked older than the house did, and many of them were in languages that Teddy couldn’t recognize. Lysander pulled one of those books out at random and then dropped it immediately, citing that it ‘had bad energy’ as the reason. </p><p>Kilgrave’s body had been found in the dining room, according to Harry’s report. The room had a round table with five chairs around it. All of the chairs were neatly tucked under the table, except for one which had been knocked over. The dining room had one window, which was situated behind the knocked-over chair, and had a broken glass pane. </p><p>Lysander went to peer out the window, and then said, “I’m going to go check the garden.” He exited through the back door, which was in the kitchen.</p><p>The kitchen, which had to be the smallest room in the home, looked fairly ordinary. Ordinary except for the large cauldron pushed into one of the corners. Teddy opened the cabinet next to the cauldron to see that it was filled with potion ingredients. It looked to be a standard supply of ingredients and in a normal person’s home, Teddy wouldn’t have thought about it twice. This was the home of a murdered wizard with potentially dark connections, however, and it made Teddy suspicious. </p><p>The living room wasn’t very noteworthy, just a set of couches, a coffee table, and another bookshelf. Teddy peered at the photographs on the wall. They looked like normal family photos, frequently featuring an old man and what looked to be his three children at various ages. One girl and two boys. Teddy wondered which one was Kilgrave. </p><p>“Teddy, look what I found,” Lysander called from the kitchen. Teddy rejoined his partner. Lysander held up a small bronze tubular-shaped object.</p><p>“What’s that?”</p><p>“A lunascope, I think. It looks like someone threw it out the window.”</p><p>“It doesn’t look like there was much of a struggle. Maybe he got into an argument with someone that led to things being thrown around and curses being flown..”</p><p>“Maybe. Did you find anything else interesting?”</p><p>“Can you take a look at their potion supplies? You’re better with that sort of thing, I want to know if there’s anything of note.”</p><p>Teddy nodded towards the still open cabinet, and Lysander handed off the lunascope to go investigate. For several minutes he poked and prodded around the cabinet, listing off random ingredients he thought were worth mentioning. “Lots of bezoars, but if he’s been dealing with dark magic that makes sense… lovage and vervain, looks like he’s been making invigoration draughts… this is a <em> lot </em> of bloodroot.”</p><p>“Bloodroot?” </p><p>Lysander gingerly held up a large jar of little white flowers. “Bloodroot. It’s incredibly toxic. It’s used as a poison. This is kind of an insane amount of it.” </p><p>“So he’s been poisoning people?”</p><p>“Most likely,” said Lysander grimly. “Or he was planning on it, at least.” </p><p>Lysander began to walk around the kitchen, opening cabinets to check for anything else noteworthy. Teddy did the same with the drawers. Kilgrave didn’t seem to have a lot of food in stock in contrast to his extensive potions collection. </p><p>“Do you hear a scratching sound?” Lysander whispered from across the room. Teddy stopped what he was doing to listen. There was a soft noise coming from somewhere in the kitchen. Lysander slowly turned to look at a low cabinet to his left. “I think it’s coming from here.”</p><p>The Aurors drew their wands and pointed it at the cabinet door. <em> “Liberare,” </em>said Teddy, and the cabinet clicked open. They stood with bated breath for a moment before something black flew out of the cabinet. Lysander yelped and jumped back. The black thing leapt onto one of the countertops and stopped there. </p><p>Teddy couldn’t help but let out a bark of laughter. It was a cat. </p><p>“I wasn’t scared,” Lysander said, shrugging a shoulder at the cat. </p><p>“Sure,” Teddy said, unconvinced. </p><p>After searching the house, the two Aurors went around to talk to Kilgrave’s neighbours. Most of them all said the same thing: There were some loud voices and bright green light the night of the murder. Kilgrave’s next-door neighbour said this, too, but she also had some additional insight.</p><p>“I always see him coming and going at odd hours,” the elderly witch told them. “He keeps strange company, too. I’ve seen some mean-looking wizards going over for a visit.”</p><p><br/>
“Did you know Kilgrave at all?” asked Teddy.</p><p>“He moved into the village four or five years ago. He seemed like an alright lad, he even housesat for me once. He started acting weird a few years ago, though. Started keeping to himself more, stopped saying hello to me and the other neighbours.”</p><p>“Okay,” said Lysander later on, balancing on the curb outside of Kilgrave’s house. “He has cursed Muggle objects, a fuckton of poison, and books on dark magic. I think we can, at the very least, qualify Kilgrave as a dark wizard.”</p><p>“Sure, I think we can say that,” Teddy agreed, chewing his thumbnail thoughtfully. “Then who would kill him? Do you think something went wrong with him and his dark wizard friends? Or maybe it was like you said, some misguided person on our side thinking they were doing good by taking out a dark wizard.” </p><p>“Do you think the lunascope has any significance?”</p><p>“The what?”</p><p>“The lunascope. It’s an astronomy tool, used for charting the phases of the moon.” </p><p>“Could that be used for any nefarious purposes?”</p><p>Lysander tilted his head in thought. After a beat, he said, “No, probably not. They’re expensive, though. It’s just odd.” </p><p>Teddy hummed in agreement. “We should head back to the Ministry and see if there are any records on him. If he has any family, maybe they’ll have some information to share.”</p><p>“If his family isn't also dark side, I suppose,” Lysander said. “Can we get lunch first?”</p><p> </p><p>Teddy stumbled out of the fireplace and into his living room in the early evening to hear laughter. He brushed the soot off of his cloak and looked up to see Victoire and her brother Louis having tea. </p><p>“Hey there, Lupin,” Louis said, raising his cup in a way of greeting.</p><p>“Hey, Weasley,” Teddy said, waving his wand and disappearing the soot off of the rug before Victoire could voice her disapproval. </p><p>“How was work, love?” she asked. </p><p>Teddy shrugged. “Fine. We’re investigating a murder.”</p><p>Louis said, “I don’t need to hear about this before dinner.” at the same time that Victoire said, “Ooh, what happened?” Louis glared at his sister.</p><p>“Nothing too gruesome,” Teddy said, moving to hang his cloak on their coat rack. “We didn’t even see the body, we’re just trying to figure out who did it.”</p><p>“Any suspects?” Victoire asked. </p><p>“None yet.”</p><p>Victoire Lupin had always had a very morbid sense of curiosity as long as Teddy had known her. She loved reading murder mystery books and asking Teddy about all of his darkest cases. It was probably this same curiosity that led her to become a healer. She wanted to know all of the ways a person could be hurt, and she wanted to know how to fix them. </p><p>“How’s Lysander doing?” Louis said, trying to shift the conversation away from the macabre. </p><p>“I still can’t believe little Lysander is an Auror now. And <em> engaged </em>,” Victoire smiled. “I feel like it was just yesterday he and Roxie were first years at Hogwarts.”</p><p>“Now you’re the only little one, Vic,” Louis teased. “Everyone else got taller and left you behind. Although, maybe you’re not so little currently.”</p><p>“Don’t be a prat,” Victoire chided, hand on her belly. “I’m hardly even short, it’s not my fault everyone else decided to grow up obnoxiously tall.” </p><p>“Be nice to your sister,” Teddy said on his way to the kitchen. “She’s sensitive about her height.” He ducked into the kitchen before she could make a retort, and put on another pot of coffee. </p><p>He headed back a few minutes later with a fresh mug in hand. Louis and Victoire had finished their tea by now and were still chatting on the couch. </p><p>“I think you have a problem, Ted,” Louis said, looking up. “Merlin, I don’t think I’ve seen you without coffee for more than five minutes the entire time I’ve known you.”</p><p>“I like caffeine,” Teddy said simply, sinking onto the armchair nearest to the fireplace. A little voice in the back of his head reminded him that he had heard similar things about his mother. </p><p>“So,” Louis said, slapping his hands on his knees. “Have you two decided on a name yet? Because I have some suggestions.”</p><p>“Is your suggestion naming them ‘Louis?” Victoire asked, rolling her eyes at her brother.</p><p>“Louise, if it’s a girl.” </p><p>“We thought of naming the kid after you, but we didn’t think that ‘Obnoxious Little Shit Lupin’ had a good ring to it,” Teddy said dryly. Louis threw a decorative pillow at him, which Teddy blocked with his arm before it could knock over his coffee.</p><p><em> “Boys,” </em> Victoire shook her head. “We haven’t picked any names out yet. Teddy and I figure that when they’re born, we’ll look at them and just <em> know.” </em></p><p>“But you will consider Louis?” her brother asked, grinning.<br/>
“I will consider it... as a middle name.” Victoire conceded. She met Teddy’s eye and smiled. </p><p>“I’ll take it,” Louis nodded. </p><p>“If we let you claim a name, then Dominique will want us to name them after her, too,” Teddy said. “And then James, and Albus, and Lily and so on, and before you know it our kid will have at least seven names.” The siblings both laughed. </p><p>“I suppose you could always just have seven kids like grandma and grandpa,” Louis said.</p><p>“No,” said Victoire and Teddy simultaneously. </p><p> </p><p>Victoire was the most beautiful person Teddy had ever met. She was clever, and witty, and had the softest hair that always seemed to fall perfectly in place. She was always honest with him and had the most incredible smile. Teddy had fallen in love with her so deeply and so surely that he could never pinpoint when it had even happened. For all he knew, he’d been in love with her his entire life. </p><p>They grew up together as the best of friends. They spent summer afternoons at the Burrow, chasing each other around and playing in the mud. Teddy knew Bill and Fleur just as well as he knew Harry and Ginny and Andromeda. </p><p>Loving Victoire was so woven into the fibre of Teddy’s life that it was like breathing to him. Even though they were in different years, and were sorted into different houses at Hogwarts (Teddy to Hufflepuff, Victoire to Ravenclaw) they were inseparable. They ate all of their meals together, snuck into each other’s common rooms, and studied together. When they finally did start dating, almost no one in their lives was surprised by it. It was as if their families were just waiting for it to happen. </p><p>Sometimes Teddy would just stare at his wife. She would always tease him when she caught him, but he couldn’t help it. There were moments when he couldn’t believe that he got to love her. Even though it seemed like the most obvious thing in the world, he felt incredibly lucky. </p><p>“You’re staring again, <em> mon colombe,” </em> Victoire said, smirking up at him. It was after dinner and they were doing the dishes together. It was a task that easily could’ve been done using magic, but there was something about the mundanity of household chores that Teddy liked. </p><p>He flushed, smiled, and looked back down at his task. “It’s hard not to, being married to the most beautiful woman in the world is incredibly distracting.”</p><p>She swatted him with a dishtowel. “You’re a terrible flirt, Mr. Lupin.”</p><p>“I think you find it endearing, Mrs. Lupin.”</p><p>They worked alongside each other in a comfortable silence until the dishes were clean and drying on their rack. </p><p>“Teddy?” Victoire asked softly. Teddy crept up behind her and rested his hands on her waist, leaning his chin on her head. “Maybe we should think of some ideas for names? Just in case.”</p><p>“I just…” He hesitated, trying to find the right words. “I don’t want to name them after anyone,” he said, nodding slightly. “I don’t want them to have any expectations, or to feel any responsibility to their name, or anything like that. Our kid deserves their own name and legacy.”</p><p>Victoire was quiet for a moment. “Do you… feel that way?”</p><p>“I suppose so. I was named after my grandfather and my father. I never met either of them, and I feel like…” There were moments, they were few, but there were moments when he could tell that people wanted him to be someone else. Moments where his grandmother would tell him a story about his grandfather, her eyes crinkling and shiny. Harry would get excited every time Teddy did something his father used to do, like his mannerisms were coded into Teddy’s DNA. “Like I’ll never live up to them. I mean, my father is on a chocolate frog card. Merlin.”</p><p>“A new name it is,” Victoire concluded. Teddy smiled into her hair. “Do you think they’ll be a metamorphmagus?” she asked, rubbing her stomach absentmindedly.</p><p>Teddy thought for a moment, not sure if he actually wanted them to be or not. “I don’t care,” he said finally. “I don’t care if they’re a metamorphmagus, or a boy or a girl or neither, or even a wizard at all. They’ll be ours, and they’ll be amazing.”</p><p>He heard his wife chuckle softly. “You sap.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>'Mon colombe' is French for 'my dove'</p><p>For reference, Teddy is around 32 and Lysander is around 21 in this.</p><p>I've been in my Marauders feelings lately and I wanted to write something where Teddy got to contemplate how he felt about his parents. I don't know how it turned into a murder investigation story.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Tuesday and Wednesday</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Morgan Kilgrave was the youngest child of three. He had an older sister named Meryl and an older brother named Jamison. The siblings were raised alone by their father after their mother died when Morgan was four years old. Morgan attended Hogwarts, as most UK wizards had, and was sorted into Ravenclaw. After school, he worked as a potioneer. This is the information that the Ministry had on record.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s always nice to see bad guys come out of houses other than Slytherin,” Lysander commented as they went over the files and notes they had that morning. “Really breaking boundaries, this guy was.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One of the worst Death Eaters was a Gryffindor,” Teddy said, remembering Pettigrew and how he had betrayed his friends and trying not to sound too angry about it. Clearly, it hadn’t worked, judging by the wide-eyed look Lysander gave him. “So,” he said, changing the subject. “We should try and track down his family. His brother has no address on file, but his sister does.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if his family is in on it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then we’ll arrest them, too. The more dark wizards in Azkaban the merrier.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They made their way out of the Auror offices and into the atrium. They headed through the bustling crowd of wizards to get to the fireplaces but were held up by the sudden appearance of a man in obnoxiously purple robes in front of them. He was holding a roll of parchment and was waving a quill around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Auror Lupin! I’m Oran Alderton of the Daily Prophet-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know who you are,” Teddy said, trying to push past him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d like to ask you a few questions about the murder of Morgan Kilgrave on Sunday night,” the reporter said, trying to walk with them now. He was smiling far too much.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Alleged</span>
  </em>
  <span> murder,” Teddy corrected. He couldn’t stand dealing with journalists. “If you’d like to ask questions, Welker in the Auror offices is who you want to talk to. He’s in charge of talking to reporters.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alderton laughed as if they were joking around. “Welker never tells me anything, and I’d like to get information from the source. Is it true that Kilgrave had Death Eater associations?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we don’t know that yet,” Lysander said. “He was involved in some sort of dark magic-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy grabbed Lysander’s shoulder firmly and glared at him. Lysander stopped talking. “We can’t tell you </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Alderton.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So he was a dark wizard?” Alderton asked excitedly, ignoring Teddy now. “What’s your name, Auror…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Scamander,” Lysander answered meekly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Scamander! As in Newt Scamander?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander shifted uncomfortably. “Er, yes. He was my great grandfather.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s incredible, you must be so proud,” Alderton said. The reporter was waving his hands around a lot, clearly trying to stop them from walking around him. “Are your parents Rolf and Luna Scamander, then?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy recognized how Lysander was feeling because it was something Teddy himself was all too familiar with. The wizarding community was small, and everyone seemed to know everyone else. And if they didn’t know you, they knew your family. Teddy had grown up with people telling him they knew who his parents were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We really must be going now,” Teddy said, staring down Alderton in a way that he hoped came off as assertive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, off to investigate the Kilgrave murder?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alleged murder,” Lysander said. Alderton smiled, but this time it didn’t quite meet his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without another word, Teddy pushed past Alderton and ignored his continued attempts at conversation as he approached the fireplaces. He heard Lysander comment on how much he hated traveling this way as he stepped in. He always complained about it, and Teddy never really responded, but he had to agree. Leaving the Ministry via a toilet always felt just a little degrading. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really need to watch what you say around reporters,” Teddy said as they walked down the dirt road towards Meryl Kilgrave’s home. She lived considerably far from her late brother, on a farm in southern Scotland. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know. Sorry.” Lysander looked embarrassed about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meryl Kilgrave seemed to live a very different life to her brother; the farmhouse looked warmer and more cared for than his house had been. When they knocked on the door, a young woman answered. She was wearing an apron, had a wand stuck behind her ear, and looked to be around Teddy’s age.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re looking for Meryl Kilgrave,” Teddy said. “Is she home?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman looked confused. “Kilgra- Oh! You’re looking for my mother. It’s Meryl Hornby now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy nodded. “Is your mother home?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, she is,” the woman said, and then hesitated. “Can I ask who you two are? What’s this about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My name is Ted Lupin,” Teddy said. “My partner is Lysander Scamander. We’re Aurors with the Ministry of Magic, and we’d like to ask your mother a few questions.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman leaned on the doorframe and squinted at them. “Aurors, eh? What do you want with my mum, she’s harmless. We’re just farmers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She isn’t in any trouble,” Lysander said. “I mean, I think, we don’t-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Her brother was found dead this weekend,” Teddy cut him off. “We just want to know if she knows anything about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She doesn’t talk to them, I haven’t even seen them since I was a child.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nonetheless, we’d like to speak with her,” Teddy said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman sighed but nodded. She left the door ajar and disappeared into another room. The Aurors waited awkwardly for a minute until the woman reappeared with an older woman in tow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello,” said the older witch. “I’m Meryl Hornby. You wanted to speak to me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meryl led them into her living room and asked her daughter to go make tea. She looked to be about sixty years old and had short grey hair and a kind smile. The farmhouse was small but charming. The living room was cozy, with blankets and throw pillows strewn all over the couches. The coffee table in the centre of the room seemed to be made from a large tree trunk. There were decorative plates on the wall that featured various animals moving around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your brother, Morgan, was found dead this past weekend,” Teddy said as gently as he could after he and Lysander had sat down on the woman’s couch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meryl nodded sadly, sitting down at the armchair opposite them. “I heard, one of his neighbours owled me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry for your loss. Were you two close?” Teddy asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unfortunately, no. He was such a sweet kid, and very clever, too. He used to pick dandelions in the garden and present them to me as flowers.” Meryl sighed. “He got into a bad crowd at school. I think that’s where everything started going badly for him. And our brother was such a bad influence on them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jamison, right?” Lysander asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meryl nodded. “Yes, Jamison. He was such a wild boy when he was young. He befriended all the wrong sort at Hogwarts, I’m afraid he dragged our brother down with him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meryl’s daughter entered with a tea tray and set it on the coffee table after handing a cup to her mother. They all thanked her, and she stood awkwardly for a few seconds before deciding to leave the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When you say the wrong sort…?” Lysander inquired. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Blood purists,” Myrtle said bluntly. The sad tone in her voice had shifted to a bitter one. “We weren’t raised to believe in all that hogwash. I don’t know where he got it from.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know where your brother is living now?” Teddy asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I can write it down for you.” She summoned a quill and a bit of parchment and wrote down the address for them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jamison Kilgrave’s home was a far cry from both of his siblings’ homes. In fact, it was barely a home at all. He didn’t live very far from his brother, and his house seemed to be in a state of decay. The roof was sinking in, the windows boarded up, the small front garden overgrown with weeds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does this look habitable to you?” Lysander asked, squinting up at the rotting house as they approached the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m afraid that if we knock, the door will cave in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s find out.” Teddy reached out a hand and knocked on the door. It didn’t cave in, fortunately. They waited a few moments, listening before Teddy knocked again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t seem like anyone’s home,” Lysander said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do we do when no one’s home?” Teddy quizzed him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We… leave a note?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We leave a tracer,” Teddy said, pulling out a small bronze disc. He kneeled down and slipped it underneath the old doormat. “I have the other half, and it’ll make a sound if anyone leaves or enters the house. Leaving a note is what we would’ve done if Meryl wasn’t home, but this guy seems more suspicious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know Meryl wasn’t suspicious?” Lysander asked as they turned and began to walk back down the road.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She lives on a nice farm, this guy lives in a condemned house. Nothing bad happens on farms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander snorted. “You must not read any horror.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not my thing,” Teddy responded. He saw plenty of horrific things in his line of work as it was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had hardly gotten five yards away from the house when a </span>
  <em>
    <span>clanging</span>
  </em>
  <span> sound rang out through the empty street. As they turned around to look for the source of the sound, the tracer in Teddy’s pocket let out a short whistling sound. Jamison Kilgrave stomped into the street and was raising his wand at the Aurors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kilgrave hardly looked related to his sister. Though he was a good few years younger than her, he looked much older. His balding hair was thin and white and he had deep bags under his eyes. He seemed to snarl as he made eye contact with Teddy and Lysander. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a quick movement, both Aurors had pulled their own wands out and leveled them at Kilgrave.</span>
  <em>
    <span>“Expelliarmus!</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Teddy shot at the crazed-looking man at the same time Kilgrave cried, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Expulso!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Teddy and Lysander were both flung back from the force of the spell, with Lysander taking most of it. Teddy, still holding on to his wand, scrambled back to his feet too late. He caught a short glimpse of Kilgrave, who had flung himself after the wand that had been forced from his hand just a moment too late, triumphantly holding his recovered wand up as he Disapparated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy grimaced. He felt a surge of anger at himself for letting Kilgrave get away. A low groan coming from behind him reminded him that Lysander had been hit too. He turned and saw that the man was still on the ground and looked half-conscious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lysander!” Teddy knelt beside his partner. “Are you okay?” Lysander had taken most of the strength of the explosive curse. At the very least, he’d have a concussion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s-“ Lysander tried to sit up, winced, and then leaned back on his elbow. “Ow.” He murmured something in Irish that Teddy suspected was a swear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to get you to St. Mungo’s.” Lysander closed his eyes and nodded in response. Teddy huffed and grabbed onto Lysander’s arm. He braced himself for the inevitable unpleasantness and turned, pulling his partner along with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stumbled around the corner of the abandoned storefront that hid St. Mungo’s. There was an immediate sinking feeling in his gut like something had gone wrong. He heard Lysander gasp and looked down at him. He saw red. Teddy blinked. There was blood on Lysander’s hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit,” Teddy swore. Lysander had splinched. Teddy hated Apparition. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit. Shit. Shit.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t so bad that Teddy couldn’t get Lysander to his feet, albeit slowly and with some difficulty. He propped his partner up and led him all the way into the reception area. Teddy was overwhelmed with a feeling of nausea that had nothing to do with Apparition</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Two hours later, Lysander was sitting upright in his bed and having a cheery conversation with the Healer. Teddy was hunched over in a chair on the other side of the room. He looked at Lysander and saw him as a boy, falling and scraping his knee on the ground and refusing to cry, making a bouquet out of weeds for his mother, drawing anatomically incorrect pictures of dragons. There were good reasons that Teddy tried to avoid Apparition as much as he could, a reason he always let someone else do it for them when they needed to travel together. He hated the dizzying, uncertain feeling of it. He was the last in his class to get his license. Now he felt incredibly guilty that he had let Lysander get hurt, even if he was fine now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door gently opened and Roxanne Weasley entered. She had clearly just come from practice, still wearing most of her Quidditch kit save for her robe, which she had swapped for a leather jacket. Her hair was falling out of her bun and she looked deeply concerned. Lysander grinned at her and the worry on her face faded into a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Scamander, you had me worried sick,” she said, rushing to his bedside and grabbing his hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander brushed a stray hair out of his fiancé’s face with his free hand. “I’m alright, love. Just a concussion and a missing kidney.” Roxanne scoffed. He lifted his shirt to show her the spiraling wound left behind, still in the process of healing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy looked away, feeling another wave of guilt come on for that missing kidney. Sure, it was growing back and Lysander would be fine by the next day, but splinching was never a pleasant experience. Teddy remembered a girl in his first Apparition lesson that had had to have her arm reattached and shuddered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you alright?” Roxanne asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy glanced up, furrowing his brows. He had thought Roxanne would be angry at him, but she didn’t look mad or accusatory. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I mean- this is my fault. I’m the one who Apparated us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander and Roxanne both rolled their eyes, annoyingly in sync. “Teddy,” Lysander said exasperatingly. “It’s fine. It happens. Apparating is dangerous.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I let Kilgrave get away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We</span>
  </em>
  <span> let Kilgrave get away,” he said firmly. “I’m not your hapless sidekick who’s just there to offer moral support. We’re partners, we both let him escape.” There was a seriousness in Lysander’s voice that Teddy had never heard before. Normally he was the voice of optimism, full of enthusiasm for the job. Teddy acknowledged that maybe he had been thinking of Lysander as more of a sidekick than a partner; a kid that he had been tasked with looking after rather than an adult who had passed his Auror training the same as Teddy had. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Right,” Teddy said. “I’m still sorry.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll take one of your kidneys as compensation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re already growing yours back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But imagine how efficient I would be if I had three.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll do fine with just the two,” the Healer said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy watched as Lysander and Roxanne talked to the Healer about the organ regrowing process and when Lysander would be able to return to work. Regrowing a kidney would be uncomfortable, but he would have two fully functioning ones by morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy knew he needed to stop thinking of his partner as a kid. It was hard, though, when he had watched Lysander grow up. And looking at the couple in front of him, one an official Auror and the other a professional Beater, he almost felt old. He knew these two as children, and now they’re grown adults with jobs and wedding plans. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt like it hadn’t even been that long since he first became an Auror, but here was a man almost a decade younger than him who had just finished his training. Teddy shook his head at himself. He could imagine Harry laughing at him for thinking of himself as old. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Teddy woke up the next morning to a cup of tea being handed to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Vic. Good morning,” Teddy said, sitting up in bed to receive the tea. It was one of Victoire’s days off, but she didn’t usually prepare food for him in bed. “What’s the occasion?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you feeling today?” his wife asked gently, sitting at the end of the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine. I barely got hurt yesterday, it was mostly Lysander.” He tilted his head at her and she smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, it’s a full moon tonight. Sometimes you feel ill on these days.” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, that.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Teddy sighed. The full moon tended to make Teddy feel tired, that was true. He might not be a werewolf, but the moon seemed to have some kind of effect on him. His father-in-law, who had been attacked by a werewolf but not on the full moon, would say the same thing. There would be an ache in Teddy’s bones that made him feel three times his actual age. It’s as if the DNA that he inherited from his father knows there’s something more that’s missing. The full moon made Teddy feel restless and incomplete and hungry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel alright,” Teddy said, pushing himself out of bed. “Have you spoken to your dad yet?” He knew Victoire liked to check in on Bill on full moon days, too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not yet. Do you want to go to my parents’ for dinner tonight?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” Teddy replied. “I love your parents. And your dad’s cooking.” He kissed his wife on the forehead, thanked her for the tea, and went to get ready for work.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Dark Wizards On The Rise?</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>By Oran Alderton</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This past Sunday a wizard by the name of Morgan Kilgrave, 52, was found dead in his home. Signs point to a possible murder, which Aurors are currently investigating. Auror Lysander Scamander believes there are ties between the late Kilgrave and dark magic. Many details of the case are still unknown to the public, but I will make sure that any dark wizards are uncovered. Wizardkind has experienced dark days in many of our lifetimes, and we must not return.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lysander,” Harry groaned, leaning his face on his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you didn’t mean to. It still happened, is the problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy almost hadn’t expected Lysander to show up to work that day. Yet he was there, eager as ever, at Teddy’s desk that morning the moment he sat down. He acted as if he hadn’t spent the previous night regrowing a kidney. And before Teddy could even say good morning, Harry had appeared and pulled them into his office for a reprimanding. The partners stood nervously by the door while Harry had leaned against the opposite wall behind his desk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look,” Harry continued, straightening up. “Next time you see one of these people, just don’t say anything. Even if it feels rude, just ignore them. It’s really the best way to deal with those vultures.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I know a few people who work at the Prophet, they’re not all that bad,” Lysander said shamefully. “I just thought-“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My wife works for the Prophet. I have a nephew who works for the Prophet,” Harry said. He held up the newspaper with Alderton’s article on it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“This</span>
  </em>
  <span>, this man? He’s not a real journalist. He’s a gossip columnist who likes to stir up anxiety and paranoia in people so that they’ll keep subscribing to the Prophet for more updates. He preys on people’s fears of another Voldemort showing up.” Lysander hung his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry sighed and pushed up his glasses. “Lysander, have a talk with Welker in public relations about this when you have the time. Moving on. What happened yesterday?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy took the lead, explaining to Harry how they went to Jamison Kilgrave’s home and were attacked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I remembered something when I saw him, too,” Teddy said. “I’ve seen him before. I think it was a few years ago, he was being questioned about his involvement in an attack of some kind. He got away.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry frowned. “Sometimes they do. This time we’ll just have to make sure he’s caught before anyone else gets hurt.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy nodded and looked away. The pictures hanging on the right wall of Harry’s office caught his eye. There was Harry and Ginny on their wedding day, James and Albus and Lily as children, Dumbledore’s Army, Harry and Ron and Hermione as teenagers, Harry and Ginny holding a baby with bright blue hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else,” Teddy said assuredly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do we do now?” Lysander asked as they left Harry’s office. “I mean, right now. What is there to do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy ran a hand through his hair, which was green that day. “We need to head back and take a look at that safety hazard Kilgrave called a home. I’m sure he’s abandoned it now that he’s been found, but it’s probably boobytrapped in some way. I don’t know if you’re up for that, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I’m up for it,” Lysander said indignantly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re supposed to be taking it easy. I’m surprised you even showed up for work today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel fine!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy turned to stare Lysander down. He looked more tired than he normally did, but he didn’t look as bad as he had in the hospital the previous day. He was standing straight and didn’t seem to have any trouble walking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy huffed. “Fine. Let’s go to Kilgrave’s.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lysander knocked on the door. Teddy squinted at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s polite to knock,” Lysander answered with a shrug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He tried to blow us up yesterday,” Teddy said and pulled out his wand to cast an unlocking spell on the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just because Kilgrave is impolite doesn’t mean I’m gonna be,” Lysander said as Teddy carefully pushed the door open.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Homenum revelio,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Teddy cast. He felt nothing. “No one’s here, at least.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dark home was only lit up by the sun coming in through the doorway. All of the windows had thick curtains covering them. Lysander waved his wand and a few candles and gas lamps spread around the room lit up. Teddy closed the front door behind them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The house had one large room and a bathroom tucked into the corner, with no other adjoining rooms or floors. A dirty mattress sat in another corner, with blankets and pillows piled on top of it in some attempt to make the living situation more comfortable. There were some basic cooking supplies and food wrappers strewn about the room, and a small stack of old books near the bathroom. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander wrinkled his nose. “It stinks in here.” The home did have a faint food rotting smell. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wands drawn in case of trouble, the two began to search the room. There didn’t seem to be much to look at, and it was hard to tell if it had always been that way or if Kilgrave had come back to remove anything. The fact that there were still personal belongings seemed to suggest that Kilgrave hadn’t returned at all. Some of the books were the expected books of spells and curses, but there were also a few fiction books in the mix. Kilgrave had a few framed photos lying around, some of his family and a few of him as a younger man with a woman. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This seems like a dead-end,” Lysander sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe. Maybe not,” Teddy said, although he privately agreed. “We can put in a request to have someone watch the place for any suspicious activity. I can go through old files and try to find a record of us questioning Kilgrave, maybe the other people involved can give us some clues.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so they headed back to the Ministry. Lysander headed off to put in a request for surveillance, and Teddy headed to the records. In a back room of the Auror offices were several bookshelves holding records for the entire history of Auror investigations dating to the beginning of the department being founded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Lupin. Need any help?” asked Burke, who was in charge of helping Aurors find specific records. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was involved with a case a few years back. I want to say maybe 2025 or 2026?” Teddy scratched his head in thought. “We questioned a man named Jamison Kilgrave, and I wanted to see the names of other people involved.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Burke nodded and got to work, moving amongst the shelves and whispering incantations. After a few minutes of this, he pulled out a parchment scroll and returned to Teddy with it. “This sounds like it,” he said, handing Teddy the scroll. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy thanked Burke and opened the scroll to read the report. In 2026, a Muggleborn wizard had been ganged up on and cursed by a group of other wizards. Kilgrave had been involved, but as he was only a witness and hadn’t cast the curse himself, he got away with a warning. The others that had been involved in the attack were Euna Crabbe, Lloyd Travers, and Lonny Morehead. Two of them were descendants of Death Eaters, which didn’t bode well. Travers had been the one to cast the curse and had been released from Azkaban in 2029. The others were only bystanders and hadn’t been sentenced with anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy rolled the scroll back up and returned it to Burke. “Got anything on the others mentioned here? Euna Crabbe, Lloyd Travers, and Lonny Morehead?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Burke went back to look through the shelves again. “I found one on Crabbe, looks like she was found dead in 2028. Mysterious circumstances, thought to be murder,” Burked called. Teddy sighed. One lead down. A few minutes later, “Morehead’s dead, too. He had some kind of run-in with a kappa earlier this year.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate that I’m saying this, but I really hope that the guy who cursed a Muggleborn is still alive,” Teddy said glumly. Burke chuckled dryly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You might be in luck, I found an address for Travers, but no record of him being dead,” Burke said again after a while. “I’ll copy that down for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Burke handed him a piece of parchment with an address on it. “I hope you find him. Good luck on the case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy headed off to find Lysander with this new information. He found him sitting at his desk, catching up on paperwork.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I put in the request. Bulstrode got assigned, she’s just headed off to watch the house,” Lysander said, looking up at Teddy as he approached.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Teddy said. “I have a lead. Lloyd Travers was involved with Kilgrave a few years ago, and I have an address for him. The other two involved in the attack I mentioned are dead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dead?” Lysander furrowed his brow. “That seems a bit convenient.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not for us,” Teddy grumbled. “He’s currently our best lead on finding Kilgrave, and he’s the one that got sent to prison for the attack. I doubt he’ll be very cooperative with us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lloyd Travers lived in a small village in Dorset that was inhabited by several wizarding families. His home was rather ordinary looking, the only indication that wizards lived there being the small Puddlemere United banner hanging in one of the windows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Travers himself answered the door and sighed quietly upon noticing the small Auror badges pinned to Teddy and Lysander’s robes. “Come in,” he said reluctantly and moved to let them enter the home. The front door led them right to the living room. Travers closed the door behind them and turned to face them, hands on his hips. “What’s this about, then? I haven’t done </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> in years. I’ve changed, really. It’s been ages since I was arrested.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s been four years,” Teddy said pointedly. He recognized Travers from his arrest. He was a man in his mid-forties with thinning red hair and beady eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I’m a different man than I was four years ago,” Travers said, nodding adamantly. “A lot of self-reflecting, a lot of working through my feelings. I’ve got nothing against mud- Muggles now, I swear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Great,” Lysander said flatly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know anything about Jamison Kilgrave and his possible whereabouts?” Teddy asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kilgrave?” Travers scratched his chin for a moment. “Yeah, I believe so. He was a petty bastard. I didn’t know him very well, though, mind you. He was mostly Morehead’s friend. Maybe you should go ask him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Morehead died months ago,” Teddy said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, well. That’s horrible,” Travers said, looking like he was forcing himself to look as surprised as possible. “I don’t know nothing about Kilgrave. I haven’t spoken to him or seen anyone from that crowd in years. What’d he do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“His brother passed away recently, and he attacked us when we went to his home to question him about it,” Teddy said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Travers hummed. “If I know one thing about Kilgrave, it’s that he loved his family. He wouldn’t do nothing to hurt them. Not unless he’s changed </span>
  <em>
    <span>a lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> since the last time I saw him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A lot can change in four years, you said it yourself,” Lysander said. Travers scoffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“His sister said they haven’t seen Kilgrave or his brother in years,” Teddy said. “Doesn’t sound much like a family man to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can love someone while being distant from them,” Travers said sagely. “Especially family. And I know Kilgrave loved his brother. Anyone who hurt him would be on his bad side.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know anyone else that Kilgrave was connected to?” Lysander asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Travers shrugged. “As far as I know, all of the people that Kilgrave was friends with back then are dead now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t trust him,” Lysander said after they had left Travers’s home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, his story seemed pretty inconsistent,” Teddy agreed. “I think we can believe him about Kilgrave caring for his brother and his old friends all being dead. I don’t see any reason he would lie about that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Teddy found himself thumbing through an old photo book at home after he had gotten off of work. It was a small leatherbound book that Harry had given him as a gift for some birthday years ago. It contained as many pictures of his parents as Harry had been able to get his hands on. Teddy remembered being given the book, with Harry telling him a story about how he had received a similar photo album of his own parents as a child. Teddy felt lucky to have someone like Harry in his life; someone else who had lost their parents before they could form any memories with them and understood exactly what he was going through. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There weren’t too many photos of Remus Lupin. Most of them were from his childhood and Hogwarts days. There were some pictures of Remus as a kid, with his parents who had died before Teddy’s parents had even met. The majority of pictures were Remus with his closest friends, the Marauders. Several of those photos had been tampered with, most likely by Harry, to remove a certain rat from them. He could see where some of the photos had had edges cut off, and there were even a few where a figure had been blacked out and obscured from sight. And then there was a large gap between photos from over a decade where Remus had been living on his own. There wasn’t a single photo of his father in his twenties. The photos resumed with a handful of Remus with the new Order of the Phoenix. Photos that showed an older, more worn down Remus than could be seen in his school days. Teddy felt a pang in his chest as he looked at a photo of his parents with him, the last photo that had been taken of them. Although the picture was in black and white, Teddy could tell that his hair was changing shades as the photo had been taken.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tonks, on the other hand, had several photos from all stages of her life. She had grown up with loving and doting parents. Teddy smiled at a picture of his mother from her own Hogwarts years, wearing a uniform that had been DIYed. She had clearly been heavily influenced by the punk subculture of the eighties, with her wild spiked-up hair and hand-made patches. Teddy knew from his Prefect days that there was a rule in the school handbook about customising uniforms, and he wondered if that was a rule his mother had chosen to ignore or a rule that his mother had inspired. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Towards the back of the book was one of his favourite photos. It was taken at some gathering, possibly Christmas. It was a group photo of several Order of the Phoenix members. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were inseparable. Tall redheaded twins in the back that had to be George and his late brother. And of course, there was Sirius alongside Remus and Tonks. It was a stressful time, as Teddy knew, but this photo seemed to capture a rare moment of joy in the war. Most of the occupants of the photo looked tired, but happy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and Victoire leaned her head on his back. “How are you feeling?” she asked as he relaxed into her touch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” he replied. And for the most part, he was. There was a stiffness in his bones and a strange feeling in his stomach, but nothing that was unusual for the night of a full moon. “What time are we headed to your parents’ place?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dinner’s in an hour. I promised I’d bring homemade pumpkin juice, come help me in the kitchen?” She pulled away from him and held her hand out. He closed the book and put it back on its shelf before taking his wife’s hand and being led to the kitchen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Teddy had always loved Shell Cottage. He had spent many summers there as an adolescent, swimming in the ocean and building sandcastles with Victoire’s family. The sight of the cottage was welcoming, with its shell-covered walls and the garden that wrapped around the home. He also liked how secluded it was. There were no nearby houses, and the closest village was a good hour’s walk away. The only sound you could hear from outside the cottage was the calming sound of the ocean and birds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked up the sandy path to the front door, and Victoire pushed it open without knocking. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Maman?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she called. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Papa? </span>
  </em>
  <span>We’re here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fleur Weasley descended the stairs and smiled widely at the pair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s so good to see you,” Fleur said, carefully pulling her daughter into a hug. “How’s the baby?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great,” Victoire beamed. “Everything’s been going great.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Teddy,” Fleur pulled her son-in-law into a hug after releasing Victoire. “How’s your health? Bill’s been dog-tired all day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No pun intended, I hope,” Bill Weasley said, entering the room from the kitchen and wiping his hands on his apron. “We’re having steak tonight with a side of kidba, I hope that’s agreeable. Did you bring the pumpkin juice?” Teddy held up the jug. “Excellent.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy went to the kitchen to assist his father-in-law, and soon the other Weasley’s arrived. Dominique and her girlfriend arrived soon after with apple pie for dessert, and then came Louis with a side dish of Yorkshire pudding. It was a lot of food for just seven people, but Bill and Teddy both tended to eat more than their usual share on full moons. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had dinner with Victoire’s parents often, but less so since Victoire had gotten pregnant. They rarely missed a full moon, however, as Bill found the company comforting. It was always a great time, with Fleur and Louis telling great stories and Dominique cracking jokes. Bill would usually prepare steak and made sure that his and Teddy’s portions were done extra rare. A warmth settled in Teddy’s chest as the evening went on, which overpowered the ache in his bones and the weirdness in his stomach. He was surrounded by family, and that would always make the full moons bearable. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Thursday and Friday</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning: Slight descriptions of violence. Nothing too graphic, but I'll put a warning just in case.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>For the second day in a row, Teddy was awoken by his wife. This time there was no tea, and she looked upset. Teddy sat up straight immediately and reached for her hand, to which she held on tightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There was an… attack,” she said softly, biting her lip. “Last night. I read about it in the Prophet. They haven’t named the victim yet, but they think it was a…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Werewolf?” Teddy asked, his voice almost cracking. Victoire nodded and he felt dizzy. “There hasn’t been a werewolf attack in Britain in about two decades.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. Are you alright? Do you want to go to work today? I can send Uncle Harry an owl if you want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Teddy shook his head. “I have to go in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stepped out of bed and almost stumbled, but quickly steadied himself. He didn’t want Victoire to worry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Werewolf attacks were extremely rare after the war. Most werewolves wanted a peaceful life and to be left alone, and the ones that didn’t were aligned with Fenrir Greyback during the war. When it ended, most of them had died during the Battle of Hogwarts or were arrested afterwards. The ones who escaped had gone into hiding. Greyback in particular was thought to have either died in the battle and been buried by his followers or gone into hiding. Teddy preferred the thought of the former. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew that Greyback was the werewolf who had both turned his father and attacked Bill. He read both of those facts in a book in his second year at school and had nightmares about the werewolf for weeks afterward. No books had pictures of Greyback, so Teddy’s 12-year-old imagination had filled in the blanks in the scariest way possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At work, he made his way to his desk with his head down. Anyone that knew him at work knew that his father was a werewolf, and could assume that anything to do with werewolves might be upsetting for him. The last thing he wanted that morning was someone giving him a pitying or weary look. To his chagrin, Lysander was already waiting at his desk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to talk about the werewolf thing,” Teddy said, flopping into his desk chair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander gave him a sad smile. “Unfortunately, I think we have to. Oran Alderton was killed last night.” Teddy groaned, leaned forward, and put his head in his hands as Lysander continued. “His wife was out of the country, and his two kids are both at Hogwarts right now, so no one else was hurt. But Alderton was killed the night after he published an article about Kilgrave potentially being a dark wizard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think Kilgrave, either Kilgrave, had ties to whatever werewolf did this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or Jamison </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> a werewolf. I mean, we don’t know,” Lysander said grimly. “But it sounds like this was done as revenge for that article.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy sighed and sat up straight. “Okay. Okay. I just… I don’t want to talk about the werewolf thing. I don’t want to talk about how terrible it is, or how scary werewolves are, or how the werewolf registry should be reinstated, or-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Teddy. I’m not, like, prejudiced against werewolves. You know that, right?” Lysander said, looking at him with concern. “You’ve met my mums? You think they’d raise us to think werewolves are bad?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I’m just saying…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander pulled a chair away from a nearby empty desk and sat down in it beside Teddy. “Did I ever tell you that your dad was their teacher at Hogwarts? Only for a year, but they both say he was the best teacher they ever had. That’s what they told us when we first learned about werewolves, that they knew one and he was the best DADA teacher they ever had. And that he was a good man.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. Your parents are good people. I’m sorry, I’m just so used to people being </span>
  <em>
    <span>assholes</span>
  </em>
  <span> about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I get it. The registry is gone, but people are still really biased against werewolves. Even though they’re just normal people who happen to have a… a-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Furry little problem?” Teddy asked, offering a small smile. Lysander nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My mum, Rolf, was one of the people who helped get the registry abolished. She believes very strongly that lycanthropy is someone’s personal business.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, mate,” Teddy said, patting Lysander on the shoulder. “Hey, can I ask you something?”</span>
</p><p><span><br/></span> <span>“Sure.”</span></p><p>
  <span>“Why’d you decide to become an Auror? Both sides of your family are all into magical creatures and plant-life and stuff like that. Why’d you take such a different route?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander smiled wryly. “I wanted to help people. I thought this would be a good way to do it. I remember… my mums would have nightmares when I was a kid. About the war, about that final battle. It was the only time I ever saw them upset. And Roxie’s dad lost his twin. And I just, I hate the idea that so many of the people who did that, who caused all that fear, got away. And I want to help make sure nothing like that ever happens again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That made a lot of sense to Teddy. Lysander’s reasons were pretty similar to Teddy’s own for becoming an Auror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I guess I also just…” Lysander took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to be compared to my family. My whole life, every time I’ve introduced myself to someone, people ask about them. It’s always something about </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, </span>
  </em>
  <span>or the Quibbler, or my mazoologist parents. And I think it’s all great, what they do and what they’ve done, but it felt like people just expected me to go work for the Quibbler or become a mazoologist like my parents. And I was going to, but then I started to realise it wasn’t what I really wanted, I just planned on it because everyone assumed it’s what I would do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I get that. The drawbacks of having famous family, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander chuckled under his breath. “Yeah, it’s fun. I know you know how that feels.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Teddy, hey,” a familiar voice said. Teddy looked up to see his godfather standing over them with worry written all over his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Harry. I heard the news.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry nodded, “I can’t double assign cases, and technically the Alderton murder is its own case. But since there might be some overlap between the cases, I’ve told the Aurors assigned to it to cooperate with you two.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who got that case?” Lysander asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Montgomery and Odgen,” Harry said, seemingly just noticing that Lysander was there too. “They’re heading down to the Alderton house soon, I want you two to accompany them and look around the surrounding area.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it,” Teddy said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you- are you okay, Teddy?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine. I don’t really want to talk about it if that’s okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry nodded. “Of course. I understand. If you ever do want to talk, you know where to find me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After Harry left to return to his office, Wendla Bulstrode approached Teddy’s desk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning,” she said. “Just to update you two, I watched the Kilgrave house yesterday and didn’t find anything. Dellinger took over for me last night, and I’m about to go relieve him. I’ll let you know if we find anything.” And with that, she was off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” Lysander said. “Let’s go find Montgomery and Odgen?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Montgomery and Odgen searched Alderton’s house, Teddy and Lysander walked around the neighbourhood. Oran Alderton had lived with his family in a village outside of London. It was a nice area, similar to the neighbourhood Teddy and Victoire lived in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is nice,” Lysander said as they walked down the street, looking for anything out of place. “Charming.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thinking of moving?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah, I like living in the city. Places like this are too quiet for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After about an hour of walking Lysander suddenly stopped and Teddy almost ran into him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something feels off about that house,” he said, pointing at a completely ordinary-looking house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander shrugged. “I dunno. Can’t explain it. Something about it is weird.” He began to walk towards the house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you have Seer tendencies or something?” Teddy asked, following his partner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I failed Divination,” he said as he peered into a window. “Had to drop the class after fourth year. I just get gut feelings. This looks like someone’s been squatting in it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously?” Teddy went to look in the window beside Lysander. The house looked empty, but there were what appeared to be food scraps on the floor and a blanket in the corner. Teddy looked back out towards the neighbourhood and noticed a ‘for sale’ sign in the front garden. “That doesn’t mean it has anything to do with what happened to Alderton.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, not necessarily. Shall we have a look anyway?” Lysander stepped aside to the front door and looked around to make sure no Muggles were around before casting an unlocking charm. He stepped into the home first, and Teddy went to follow, but then Lysander immediately reared back and knocked into his partner. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Merlin’s fuckin’ beard</span>
  </em>
  <span>, what’s that smell?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy steadied himself and, without even thinking about the potential consequence, sniffed the air. He immediately regretted it as a foul stench filled his nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy and Lysander both took several steps back away from the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It smells like death,” Teddy said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it bad that I kind of hope this is a Muggle case and we don’t have to deal with this?” Lysander asked, pinching his nose. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, how about I go in and see if the body is in Muggle clothes or wizard clothes,” Teddy said, hating the thought of getting closer. “If it’s a Muggle, we’ll call the… what are they called?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cops?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, we’ll call those tossers and they can deal with it. And if it’s a wizard we’ll go get Montgomery and Odgen and they can help us deal with this.” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Lumos!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Teddy took a deep breath and pinched his nose before entering the house, using his wand to light his way. He followed the scent further into the house, struggling as the smell got even stronger. His stomach churned as he caught the sight of blood on the carpet, leading behind a doorway. He steeled himself before pushing the door open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At first, Teddy couldn’t figure out what he was looking at. All he could focus on was the stench. The first thing he noticed was the blood all over the floor and walls. The second thing he noticed was the vaguely human-shaped mass lying in the middle of the room. Teddy got out of the house as fast as he could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander was waiting outside in the light, shifting nervously. “What’d you find?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy didn’t respond, as he vomited into the bushes the moment he got outside of the house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, Ted, what happened in there?” a second voice asked. Teddy wiped his mouth and looked up to see Montgomery and Odgen strolling up to the house. It was Odgen who had spoken.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Body,” Teddy said weakly, waving his hand towards the house. “I think human. It was hard to tell.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>think </span>
  </em>
  <span>human?” Lysander asked, eyes wide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something is really wrong in there,” Teddy said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll go take a look if you don’t mind,” Montgomery said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be my guest,” Teddy said, still feeling nauseous, and stepped aside to let the Aurors pass.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You alright?” Lysander asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Teddy said as he sat down on the front steps of the house. “I just need a minute.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few minutes later, Montgomery and Odgen quickly exited the house, stepping over Teddy and getting away from the door as quickly as they could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That looked a lot like the scene at the Alderton house,” Montgomery said, coughing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, really?” Teddy winced. “His poor family.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Werewolves are fucking vicious, mate,” Odgen said. “No offense, Lupin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy blinked at the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, Ogden,” Lysander groaned. “Seriously?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said no offense!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That means literally nothing,” Lysander said defensively. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys,” Teddy said, silencing them. “It’s fine. We should head back to the Ministry, Lysander. Cleanup isn’t our job.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank Merlin for that,” Lysander said. He reached out his hand and helped Teddy to his feet. Ogden mumbled another apology as they passed him by. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As I’m sure most of you know by now, we had a werewolf attack last night.” Harry stood in the middle of the Auror office with everyone working that day circled around him. “This is the first werewolf attack on record in the United Kingdom since 2011. Since most of you weren’t yet Aurors at that time, I thought I’d take the time to talk to everyone about the subject.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry paused for a moment, looking around to make sure everyone was paying attention. “Most werewolves are harmless. They aren’t monsters, just wizards trying to live their lives.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t they side with Voldemort during the war?” someone asked. Teddy looked around but couldn’t see who said it. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Some </span>
  </em>
  <span>of them did, yes. And in my opinion, that was largely out of desperation more than anything else,” Harry responded, jaw tense. “Voldemort didn’t care about werewolves, he wanted to use them as a means to an end. Werewolves only joined him for a lack of better options. Anti-werewolf laws and the registry made it incredibly difficult for werewolves to find work. Wizarding society treated them as sub-human, they hardly had any other options. They sided with Fenrir Greyback, who aligned himself with Voldemort.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They still sided with him. Desperation doesn’t excuse that,” said someone else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it doesn’t. But it explains it,” Harry said. “And frankly, I think that should make those of us who aren’t werewolves ashamed. We created a society that left them no choice but to live in complete poverty or side with a madman. And as for this specific attack, I’m sure some of you have questions. It’s true that Oran Alderton was one of the victims last night. Thankfully, the rest of his family is unharmed. We’re still trying to find out the identity of the second victim. I’m sure you’re all aware of this, but I’ll remind you just in case: do not speak to anyone outside of this department about this. This information will be released to the public in due time, but for now, it’s important to keep this quiet.” Aurors around the room nodded and murmured in understanding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If that’s all, I think we’re finished here,” Harry said. “Back to work, everyone.” Through the sound of chairs scraping and chattering voices building up, Harry made eye contact with his godson and nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander, who was sitting next to Teddy, chuckled nervously. “Really takes me back to when professors would yell at the whole class because some kids were being too loud.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ha, yeah,” Teddy said, distracted. People at the Auror offices had been shooting him wary looks all day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I didn’t want to say it,” Lysander said. “But I have no idea what we’re supposed to do now. Like, unless that body we found was Kilgrave, we’re kind of at a dead end. Right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy ruffled his hair and sighed. “I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see who it is. And if Bulstrode and Dellinger see something at the Kilgrave house.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Waiting, right.” Lysander nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s been a long day, Lysander. Honestly, I’m happy to just sit and do some paperwork for the rest of the day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’re right,” Lysander said, clearly not pleased with the thought of sitting at a desk. Teddy knew Lysander could be impatient. He nodded again and then left to return to his own desk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy turned back to his desk and tried to get back to work. He didn’t like desk work too much either, but it was welcome after the week he’d been having. He struggled to focus, however, with the day’s events playing over and over in his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Teddy was in his first year at Hogwarts, someone had started a rumour that he was a werewolf. With how well known his parents were, it was public knowledge that his father was one. The eleven-year-olds in Teddy’s year didn’t care that that’s not how werewolves worked. They didn’t know anything about werewolves, in fact, since they weren’t part of the curriculum until third year Defense Against the Dark Arts. He spent weeks at school with people asking if he would turn into a wolf if he got angry, or if he had a better sense of smell than ordinary humans. And even after the rumor died down, people would still cast him nervous glances the nights before full moons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they did finally learn about werewolves in class, the professor brought up Teddy’s father as an example. Everyone in the class had turned to look at him as subtly as they could. It was strange getting attention from people just because of who his parents were, and he resented that people only seemed to remember that his dad was a werewolf. He knew from his family that his dad was incredibly clever. When he was a kid, he helped his friends make a map of Hogwarts that tracked everyone in the castle. He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix in both wars. He was a professor. He was, however brief, a husband and father.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Werewolves were classified by the Ministry as XXXXX magical creatures, making them some of the most dangerous known to wizardkind. It was only after the war that things had started getting better for them. Still, the prejudice hadn’t fully gone away. It was still difficult for werewolves to find work and form relationships. Teddy couldn’t even imagine how hard things must have been for his dad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because of their heroics in the fight against Voldemort, both of his parents had been honoured with chocolate frog cards. Around his fifth year, their cards would start to appear everywhere. People would leave them at the library table he normally occupied, at his desk in any class he had with assigned seating, and even sitting on his trunk in his dorm room. He wasn’t sure if it was his friends leaving these for him, or just random strangers with good intentions. By the time he graduated, he had hundreds of cards of the both of them. He was never quite sure how to feel about this. Sometimes when he found a card it would make him sad, but often they seemed to appear at just the right times. He’d have a long day of studying or feeling down, and he’d find a card with one of his parents' faces on it and suddenly things would be just a little bit better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Knowing your parents through outside sources was incredibly strange. Teddy knew how they looked, what they did for fun, where they worked. He knew they were good people, he knew his mum had a great sense of humor, he knew his dad liked to read. He could always go to Harry or Ginny or Andromeda for advice, but he always wanted to know what his parents might have said. He didn’t know how they would have reacted to him becoming a Prefect or, later on, Head Boy. He didn’t know what they would have thought of Victoire. They’d never get to meet their grandchild. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Teddy got home in the late afternoon, Victoire wasn’t home. He took a shower and then busied himself with tidying up, something he tended to do when he felt restless or anxious. After about an hour Victoire arrived home carrying a bag of groceries. Teddy moved quickly to help his wife.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, Teddy, I’m fine,” she said, laughing as he took the bag. “I’m pregnant, not an invalid." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How was your day?” he asked, carrying the groceries into the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was nice. I had lunch with Dominique.” She followed him into the kitchen and together they started to put away the groceries. “How was-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds great,” Teddy said quickly. “Did you remember to get jam? I think we were out of-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Teddy,” she said, stopping what she was doing and turning to face him. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” he said, not meeting her eyes. “Everything is fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Mon colombe,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she said, taking hold of his hands. “What happened? Is this about the attack last night?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed. “We went to search the neighbourhood Alderton lives- lived in.” He shut his eyes. “There was another body. Lysander and I found it. It was… I’ve seen bodies before, just not like this. There was so much </span>
  <em>
    <span>blood,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Vic. I can’t stop thinking about it.” Victoire pulled him into a hug and held on to him. Teddy took a deep breath and rested his chin on her head. “I know this is what I signed up for. It’s just… it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>so much</span>
  </em>
  <span> sometimes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” she whispered. “I get like this sometimes, too. Our jobs are to help people and it’s so hard when you just can’t help someone. Sometimes things get too bad, or it’s too late, and there’s nothing we can do about it. All you can do is keep going. You’ve helped so many people, Teddy. It’s not your fault someone got attacked last night. There’s nothing you could have done.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. I love you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Je t'aime.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Now, help me chop these vegetables for dinner?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Teddy was surprised to wake up and see himself with brown hair the next morning. This hadn’t happened since he was stressing out over his N.E.W.T. exams. He shook his head and willed his hair to turn pink. He looked far too much like his father with brown hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Surprisingly, he beat Lysander to work that morning. Usually, he would be at the Auror offices the second they opened, eager to start the day. Teddy sat at his desk and waited. He had already finished his leftover work yesterday, and now he was left with nothing to do. Luckily, it didn’t take long for Lysander to get there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Lysander said, sitting on Teddy’s desk. “What’s on the agenda today, Ted?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should see if that body was identified yet,” Teddy responded. “Get off my desk.” Lysander sheepishly stood up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go ask about that body,” Lysander said, heading off. And Teddy was back to waiting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few minutes, he heard footsteps approach and looked up. It wasn’t Lysander, but Wendla Bulstrode. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lupin, can I speak to you somewhere private?” she whispered, leaning into his desk. “Scamander, too, if he’s in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course. Lysander should be back soon. Did you guys see something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe. It could’ve just been…” she trailed off, biting her lip. She shook her head slightly before continuing. “It might have been nothing. But if it’s not, it’s a big deal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander returned a few moments later with a frown on his face. He nodded at Bulstrode in acknowledgment. “Bad news. It was Jamison Kilgrave.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit,” Teddy said. Jamison had been their best lead at finding out what happened to his brother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to talk,” Bulstrode said. They followed her out of the Auror offices and into a nearby empty corridor. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Muffliato,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she cast, making sure there was no way for them to be overheard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” asked Lysander.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We saw Harland Burke go into the Kilgrave house last night. He went in for about half an hour before leaving,” she said gravely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Burke?” Lysander asked. “From records?” Bulstrode nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait- You’re suggesting Burke might have had something to do with the murder?” Teddy asked incredulously. “He’s an Auror. He was in my year at school.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He wouldn’t be the first Auror to go bad,” Bulstrode said. “If he has gone bad, that is. He could’ve just been doing his own off-the-record investigation. Maybe he was just curious. There are plenty of reasons he could’ve been there. I don’t want to jump to any conclusions just yet.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should ask him about it,” Lysander said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy shook his head. “No, if he’s up to something bad that wouldn’t be a good plan. I think we should follow him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Follow him? Like, around the records room?” Lysander asked, raising an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, follow him home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right. Obviously.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy tried to make himself busy for the rest of the work day. He helped out some Auror trainees, he delivered things to other departments, and he talked to Montgomery and Odgen about their own murder case. He tried to ignore the uneasy looks Odgen had been giving him since the previous day. Lysander and Teddy both kept their eyes on the records room, taking note of every time Burke left and every time someone else went in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy didn’t really believe Burke had it in him. They were never really friends at Hogwarts, but they were friendly. Burke was a Gryffindor in the same year as Teddy, they had multiple classes together. They were both Chasers on their respective house’s Quidditch teams, and had been in the same study groups for their O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams. Burke was reserved for a Gryffindor but seemed to be a good friend to those he was close to. Teddy tried to think back to his recent interactions with Burke. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If he was in on it, wouldn’t he have had some reaction when Teddy asked for his help? Had Burke ever shown any indication that he was a blood-purist? Had he ever acted weird about Teddy being a half-blood, or having a werewolf for a father? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Burke seemed normal to Teddy. Friendly, dependable, a good Auror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On his lunch break, Teddy visited Harry’s office.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a favour to ask.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry looked up at his godson curiously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I borrow the cloak? Just for tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry had passed the cloak on to Teddy in his first year at Hogwarts. It went through the whole Weasley-Potter family after that. Teddy and Victoire shared it, later passing it on to James. James shared it with his siblings and Rose, and they later passed it on to Hugo and Fred, and then Dominique and Roxanne and Molly, and then Louis and Lucy. And as Louis and Lucy had graduated the previous year, the cloak had gone back to Harry. Harry would loan it out to anyone in his family who asked for it, but that was a rare occurrence. It turns out there wasn’t as much use for an invisibility cloak once you were an adult and no longer had any professors to sneak around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, Teddy,” Harry said. “Can I ask why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re looking into something tonight. It might be a lead, it might not be.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry didn’t ask any questions, he just nodded and promised Teddy he would get the cloak to him by the end of the day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just before six o’clock, Harry dropped a box on Teddy’s desk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Use it well,” his godfather said, smiling. It was a line he always used in reference to the cloak, but Teddy had never asked if there was a story behind it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After work, Lysander Apparated them to a spot near Burke’s house. They walked closer to his house before throwing the cloak over themselves. Teddy hadn’t used it since he was 17, and it hadn’t been too difficult then for Victoire and him to hide under the cloak. Now that he was a grown man trying to hide under it with another grown man, it was a tad more difficult. They both had to crouch to allow the cloak to cover their shoes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They began their stakeout sitting on the curb outside of Burke’s house. They had made sure to leave work before him so they could see when he arrived home. Burke lived in a small family home in Colchester. Teddy knew that Burke was divorced with a daughter. She would’ve been about thirteen or fourteen years old, which meant she would be at Hogwarts that time of year. This meant that the house should be empty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Waiting was uncomfortable. They were hunched over, sitting too close together, and the cloak covering his face was making Teddy sweat. His neck was hurting and his legs were starting to lose feeling by the time Burke got home. A light turned on somewhere in the house and both Aurors sat up straight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do we go in or what?” Lysander asked quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s sneak up and look through the window.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Through the window, they saw Burke’s kitchen. They watched him walk in, put on a pot of water to boil, and then exit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s making tea,” Lysander whispered. “How sinister.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They watched as Burke re-entered the kitchen and prepared two cups of tea before leaving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t a good spot, let’s find another window,” Teddy suggested. Slowly they crept around the house, peering into various windows, until they caught sight of Burke again. He entered what looked like a small dining area with two cups of tea in hand. Another person was sitting at the table, but they were facing away from the window. Burke set down a cup of tea for this person, and then moved towards the window. Lysander stumbled back and almost knocked them both down. Burke didn’t notice them, fortunately, and had only moved to crack the window open and let fresh air in from outside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That better?” Burke asked, turning back to the person sitting at the table. The table was too far away for them to hear the person’s response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on,” Lysander said, rummaging around in his robes. “This might help.” He pulled out an Extendable Ear. Teddy had always found the flesh coloured devices a bit disgusting, but they came in handy. Lysander slipped the listening end in through the cracked window.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t have to kill Jamison,” Burke was saying. “He would’ve come around, I’m telling you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t worth the risk,” answered the stranger in a gruff voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like hell, it wasn’t. He was a valuable asset. So was Morgan. Now we have neither of them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t blame me for Morgan, Harland. That was your doing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Shit,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Lysander said under his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m blaming you for Jamison. He wasn’t supposed to die, and neither was that journalist. Now people will be more onto our movement than ever!” Burke was angry, but Teddy could tell he was trying to keep his voice level and not lose his temper too much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>sorry</span>
  </em>
  <span> I killed your friend, Harland,” the stranger said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Neither of them had taken a single sip of their tea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re unbelievable.” Burke said, shaking his head in disgust.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s move,” whispered Teddy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Aurors sneaked back around the house until they reached the front of the house. Teddy pulled the cloak off of them and stuffed it into the pocket of his robes. He sent a message via Patronus to Harry, just in case. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was that a wolf?” Lysander asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” It had always been a wolf. Teddy remembered casting a successful Patronus for the first time, and he hadn’t been surprised about its form. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course it was a wolf, what else would it be? </span>
  </em>
  <span>“We’re going to go in in a second. Disarm them first, use the Incarcerous spell on them to hold them down, and then we can arrest them. Got it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy turned his wand on the front door. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Alohomora.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He opened the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Aurors entered the home as quietly as they could and moved towards the side of the house they knew Burke and the other man would be. Something fell over behind him and Teddy felt his blood run cold. He glanced behind him to see that Lysander had knocked over an umbrella stand. Lysander was looking at his partner with wide panic-stricken eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Burke entered the living room wielding his wand.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Expelliarmus!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Burke fired at them before either Auror could think to react.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lysander and Teddy’s wands flew out of their hands. He made eye contact with Burke, who had a wild look in his eyes. Thinking fast, he grabbed a lamp off of the side table next to him and threw it at Burke. Burke, who had only been prepared for magic attacks, didn’t react in time. He threw an arm up to try and block the lamp, which still hit him in the arm as it broke. Teddy used his confusion as a chance to dive for his wand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still on the ground, but armed with his wand, Teddy yelled </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Locomotor Mortis!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Burke stumbled as his legs locked up and fell forward. Teddy marched up to the man and ripped the wand out of his hands himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Incarcerous!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He heard Lysander cast, and Burke was bound in ropes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They quickly moved into the dining area, where the stranger was. He sat in his chair, drinking from his teacup. He barely looked up at the Aurors, but a smirk appeared on his face. He was an old man, even older looking than Teddy’s grandmother. He didn’t appear to have a wand. Teddy quickly cast the binding spell on the man, causing his cup to fall to the ground and break.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The old man, slumped back in his chair, sniffed the air. “You,” he said, voice hoarse. “I know you. I can smell the wolf on you.” Teddy felt his stomach twist. The old man looked directly at him. His gaze made Teddy uncomfortable. “You. What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy, still pointing his wand at the man defensively, felt his throat go dry. “My- my name is Ted Lupin. I’m an Auror for the Ministry of Magic, and you’re-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lupin,” the old man sneered, almost growling. “That’s who you are. Your father was one of mine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy had always had an image in his mind of Fenrir Greyback. He didn’t have much information to go off of. He knew that Greyback attacked and turned his father into a werewolf when he was only five. He knew that Greyback had sided with Voldemort during both wars, and had led other werewolves to do so. He had heard stories of Greyback being practically feral. He knew that Greyback was known for attacking humans no matter what phase the moon was in. Greyback was more of a wolf than he was a human on every day of the month.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t pictured the feeble old man sitting before him. His hair, matted and furlike, was white and thinning. He was frail, looking like a particularly strong gust of wind could blow him away and turn him to dust. He looked weak, Teddy thought with a shock. He wasn’t this beast that Teddy had had nightmares about when he was a child. He was a weak old man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My father was not yours,” Teddy snarled back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fenrir Greyback laughed. It was a dry laugh that almost sounded like it pained him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I created him. I made him what he is.” Greyback paused for a moment. “Was.” He didn’t say it in a taunting way, he almost sounded sad about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You attacked him! He was a child!” Teddy’s grip on his wand tightened. Greyback seemed to notice this, but he didn’t look worried. He seemed perfectly at ease with the situation at hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I gave him a gift,” Greyback said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You-” Teddy started, but was interrupted by the sound of a loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>crack</span>
  </em>
  <span> coming from outside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go check that out,” Lysander said, leaving the room. Teddy was alone with Greyback.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could give you that gift, too,” Greyback said. “If you wanted it. A werewolf having a human child is a disgrace.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How dare you-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You feel it, don’t you? The moon? The wolf calling out to you? You were made to be one of us, boy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Silencio!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Teddy had had enough of Greyback. He heard someone enter the room and turned to see Lysander and Harry. He felt relieved at their presence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin,” Harry said. “Is that…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fenrir Greyback,” Teddy nodded, glad to no longer be alone with the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do the honours, Teddy,” Harry said. “You should be the one to bring him in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fenrir Greyback,” Teddy said, turning back to the man his wand was still pointed at. “You’re wanted by the Ministry for several crimes, including but not limited to murder, fighting in defense of Voldemort, the use of dark magic, and evading arrest. My name is Teddy Lupin. I’m an Auror for the Ministry of Magic, and you’re finally under arrest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Together, the three Aurors brought Greyback and Burke into the Ministry for holding. On one of the Ministry’s lower levels were cells made to keep wizards facing criminal charges. Throwing Fenrir Greyback in one of those cells had to be one of the most satisfying moments of Teddy’s life. After so many decades of evading capture and getting away with his crimes, Greyback was finally facing the consequences. Teddy couldn’t pretend it wasn’t personal. This man had attacked his father and his father-in-law. He had destroyed and changed countless other lives. He deserved to sit in a cell in Azkaban for the rest of his days. Judging by the man’s age, there probably wouldn’t be many days left. Regardless, there was finally some justice against Greyback.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Burke, with the promise of less prison time, had told his whole story. He had made some friends with inclinations towards dark magic years ago. He was close with Jamison Kilgrave in particular. Jamison, despite protests from other members of their circle, brought his younger brother on board. Morgan was not as invested as the others were, but his skills as a potioneer were valuable. Morgan grew a distrust towards what Burke referred to as ‘half-breeds’, and Greyback in particular. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The previous week an argument had broken out in Morgan’s home. Greyback found a lunascope, a device used to track the phases of the moon, and took it as a personal insult. Morgan had threatened to kill Greyback, but Burke believed Greyback to be too valuable of an asset to lose. He also didn’t fully trust Morgan, believing that he was getting cold feet about the movement as a whole. He took it upon himself to kill Morgan before he could do anything to sabotage them, which only made Jamison angry. Jamison really did care for his brother and was threatening to abandon the group. Greyback killed Alderton for shedding a small amount of light on what they were doing, and he killed Jamison for good measure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Burke had also given the names of other wizards and witches involved. Teddy was relieved to see how small their ‘movement’ really was. It was just a handful of people, with Burke being the most influential in the Ministry. That didn’t mean much, considering Burke was a records keeper in the Auror department with little influence on anything. Lloyd Travers, who had evidently not changed that much in the past four years, was among this group. Morehead and Crabbe had been killed for wanting to back out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry we solved your case for you, lads,” Lysander waved to Montgomery and Odgen on Monday morning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cheers, Scamander,” Montgomery laughed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Teddy knocked on Harry’s office door before entering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You asked to see me, Harry?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His godfather smiled and nodded, waving him towards the seat in front of his desk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you feeling, Teddy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” he answered. It was a generic answer, but it was honest. It had been a week since the case closed, and Teddy was feeling considerably less stressed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry pondered for a moment, clearly having something he wanted to talk to his godson about but not knowing quite where to start.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, you’re almost the same age your father was when I first met him,” Harry started, smiling fondly as he remembered. “Well, I assume I probably met him as a baby, but I have no memory of that. He was on the Hogwarts express my third year. I remember that standing out to me because we’d never seen a teacher on the train before. I never did find out why he was there. The train got stopped by Dementors and he saved us. You know the story. It’s just mad how much you’ve grown up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy nodded. “Harry. This might be a stupid question, but do you think... they’d be proud of me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course they would. You’ve grown up to be a fine young man. It’s not fair that they aren’t here to see it. I’m proud of you, Teddy. I know you’re not my son, but I’ve always cared for you like you were. Ginny and I are both really proud, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy smiled. He really loved his godparents. “Thank you, Harry. Seriously.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” Harry said. He took a breath. “Reckon you could do my job someday?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, I- why?” He tilted his head at his godfather in confusion. Harry wasn’t old enough to retire yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve decided to have a career change,” Harry said. He laughed softly. “Might seem a bit late, at my age. But it feels right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“McGonagall has been asking me to take up a teaching position for years, and I’ve finally caved.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy was no longer confused. Harry being a professor made perfect sense. He grinned. “You’re going to teach at Hogwarts? That’s... brilliant. What subject?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Defense Against the Dark Arts. What else? And someone needs to take over my position here. I was wondering if you’d be okay with me recommending you for the job.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy thought for a moment. Being the head of the Auror offices was an important job, one that came with a lot of responsibility. Teddy could handle responsibility, sure, but he wasn’t sure it was what he wanted to do. “I... I don’t think so, actually. I like what I’m doing now. I like being out there in the world. And I like working with Lysander.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry nodded in understanding. He didn’t seem surprised at his godson’s response. “I’m glad to hear it. Maybe one day.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I try to come here once a week, at least,” Andromeda Tonks said. Teddy held out his arm for his grandmother, and she accepted the help. Teddy refused to see her as old, but she did have trouble walking long distances.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t go as often as I should,” Teddy responded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They would understand,” she said, patting his arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked through the graveyard together. It was a pleasant summer day, but something about graveyards had always made Teddy feel cold. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks were buried next to Ted Tonks, Teddy’s maternal grandfather and namesake. Teddy helped his grandmother sit down in front of their headstones before taking his place next to her. He laid the flowers, yellow pansies that Andromeda had picked out from her garden, on each of their graves. From his pocket, he pulled out a picture of his and Victoire’s newborn daughter and set it between his parents’ headstones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your parents are so proud of you, Teddy,” she said. “I just know it.” She held her grandson’s hand. Teddy hoped that was true. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy always found it painful to visit them, which was why he would normally only go with his grandmother. She always found a way to make the visits nice instead of desperately sad. She liked to talk out loud to their lost loved ones, telling them stories and filling them in on what they had missed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy told them about their granddaughter. He told them how she had his smile and Victoire’s golden blonde hair. She wasn’t a Metamorphmagus as far as they could tell, and Teddy was fine with it. She was happy and healthy and loved, and that’s all that mattered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teddy told them about sending Greyback to Azkaban. His trial had been over a month ago, and he would spend however much time he had left in prison. He hoped that would bring some peace to his father. Teddy found peace in it, at least. And he knew Bill did, too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Andromeda talked about the weather. She told them how sunny and warm it had been, as she knew this was Tonks’s favourite type of weather. She talked about her hobbies, and how Ted’s favourite Quidditch team had been doing, and everything she would have talked to her family about had they still been there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Teddy ignored the fact that they were surrounded by headstones, he could imagine they were having a picnic. Sitting outside in the sun, talking to his parents and grandfather. He didn’t have to miss the people he never got a chance to know, because they were right there. He could almost feel their presence, their warmth and happiness. Despite the melancholy that seemed to be ever-present in him when he thought of his parents, he was happy. He would always want to know his parents, but he was content with the knowledge that he had never and would never be alone. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoyed :)</p><p>Some random side notes. I know that canonically Rolf is a man, but he's not in the books so it's not, like, CONCRETE canon. Ya know? And I just can't picture Luna being with a man, so my fanon Rolf is a woman.<br/>Also, no one asked, but I pictured Andrew Garfield as Teddy and Steven Yeun as Lysander. This adds nothing to the story, and I didn't describe either of their looks because I know everyone has their own images in their heads and I wanted people to picture whoever they wanted, but that's who I was picturing.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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